Improvement in eaves-troughs and conductors



R; B.MILLER.

improvement in Eaves-Troughs and' Conductors.

Patented May &0,1871.

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RUTGER B. MILLER, or UTIOA, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN EAVES-TR'OUGHS AND coNoucToRs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,340, dated May 30, 1871.

Toall whom-it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUTGER B. MILLER, of

i Utica, in thecounty of Oneida and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Mode of Preventing the Accumulation of Ice and Icicles in the Conductors and Eaves- Troughs' and on the Roofs "of Houses or other buildings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference markedthereon. l 1 y t The nature orprinciple of my invention consists in applying heated air to the lower and i f y upper orifices of the conductors and to the-surface of the eaves-trough, and to a tube of metal or brick tile placed on the roof above the eaves where ice accumulates, which heated air is derived from the basement or attic story of the i house by means of tubes of metal or other material placed in contact with the conductor and eaves-trough and tile. on the roof above the i t eaves, whereice accumulates in such manner as to prevent the refiuxof water into the in- 'teriorof the house or the overflowing of the eaves-trough or bursting of the conductor, or formation of icicles, &c. a

To enable others skilled in the art to make use of my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being made to the drawing accompanying this specification. r

Let the lower orifice of the conductor a be protected with a valve, which will open with the pressure of water from the conductor a,

i and shut when not thus opened, so as to exclude cold air, snow, and sleet tending to close the orifice with ice made by thedroppings of i the conductormingled with snow or sleet. Let

the lower elbow of the conductor be keptwarm by heated air, derived from the basement, passing through tubes '5 and j, of metal or other material. The mouth of the conductor being thus secured fromclosing with ice-the primary cause of all the difficulty in the conductor and eaves-trough- -the conductor is kept Jwarm by heated air rising from the tubesi and j, which may be temporarily warmed by an ordinary lamp or-gas, if there be no other fire in the basement, placed in contact with the elbow of the conductor, one on each side thereof, and. running up on each side of the broken by the weight of the ice.

conductor, all three pipes being protected by a covering or fine of wood, brick, or other material, b, which may be coated with an interthermore, it ascends through this air-chamber,

warming the base of the eaves-trough, and preventing its filling with ice, or the formation of icicles, or overflowing'upon the wall or door-steps,v&c. Other tubes may be admitted into this air-chamber from the attic It, thus increasing the heat, and aiding the circulationfrom the orifice to the other end of the eaves-trough.

To complete the operation, the eaves-trough should be covered with a brick (horseshoe) tile, simply laid in the trough to prevent its filling up with leaves and snow, as well as to retain heat, and cause snowto melt as it falls instead of filling the trough and freezing into ice by mixing with droppings from the roof. This covering may be of any material, such as tin, zinc, or wood, so placed as not to prevent the flow of water from the roof into the eaves-trough.

Effectual as these means are for preventin g ice and icicles in the eaves-trough and conductor, my invention would fail in its principal object but for the arrangement on the roof, 0 c and f, which prevents a reflux of water through the roof into the house, resulting from an accumulation of ice on the eaves, caused by the melting of snow on the upper part, which is warmer than the lower part, because heated internally by the air of the attic, which is warmer by several degrees at the internal apex of the roof in the attic than at the eaves;

whence it results that the water flowing from melted snow near the apex on the roof will congeal near the eaves and form a coating of ice from one to two feet in thickness, causing water to flow back under the shingles or slate, or even tin-roofs, the soldering of which is To prevent this most important difficulty in the case before us the tubes or brick-tiles e e f are warmed from the air of the attic or from the chimneyflue therein, admitted through tubes 00 o o,

of tin or other material, and so attached to the roof as to turn the Water of the melted snow into the orifice f, from which a lead pipe, 70, leads the water to the orifice in the eavestrough d, furnishing Water for a tank, 27, in the attic, if desired, and thus prevents its congelation and accumulation on the lower part of the roof, and the consequences thereof, above specified.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The metal tubes or brick tiles, or their equivalents, marked 0 e f, on the roof, warmed by heated air from the attic, admitted through 

